Win THE HERE AND NOW by Anne Brashares Plus the YALit Pick and Mix 4/8/14 Edition

by Martina Boone

COMPULSION REVIEWS

It’s very early, but we’re starting to get in some lovely reviews for COMPULSION. Obviously, we can’t put up reviews just yet, but I want everyone to know how much I appreciate them, [HINT: LOTS AND LOTS] so I am going to share a snippet of one now and then as they come in. Here’s the first one from someone who downloaded from Edelweiss.

“When I picked up COMPULSION, I expected to see real southern stuff. And lemme tell ya, sugar, it delivers. Martina Boone’s debut into young-adult fiction is dazzling. Well-written, tense, and, simply put, fresh, COMPULSION is a great read.”

Hafsah Laziaf, Book Blogger, IceyBooks.com

Thank you so much Hafsah!!!! When I read her full review I was all:

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Best. Review. Ever!

Bloggers and readers, if you are doing an early read of an ARC from Edelweiss, if you’ve received it in the publisher mailing, or you’ve won it in a giveaway and you’d like us to share a bit of it with a link to your site, here’s where to go to find out more information on that and on the blog tour.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

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That’s the best kind of book, right? What have you read lately that you can’t stop thinking about?

YA GIVEAWAY OF THE WEEK

The Here and Now
by Anne Brashares
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 4/8/2014

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take on an impossible romance. Ann Brashares’ first novel for teens since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Meet seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan Jarves.

Purchase The Here and Now at Amazon
Purchase The Here and Now at IndieBound
View The Here and Now on Goodreads

Want more giveaways? Don’t forget to check the sidebars. We’ve got some AMAZING stuff. Plus there’s yesterday’s EIGHT book giveaway that we’ll be getting into the sidebars shortly.

RECENT YA GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Half Bad
by Sally Green
Hardcover
Viking Juvenile
Released 3/4/2014

Winner: Nicole Moy

A stunning, magical debut. An international sensation.

In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.

Purchase Half Bad at Amazon
Purchase Half Bad at IndieBound
View Half Bad on Goodreads

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

First look at IF I STAY’s Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia. Now it’s a good thing Chloe loves IF I STAY, but a shame she’s not impressed with YA books in general. And how awesome was the list of recommendations the YA community gave her on Twitter for a reading list? Although I got carried away myself with tweeting those last week, I can’t find a link to where they were collected. Here’s one from Courtney Summers, though, that’s absolutely wonderful.
Entertainment Weekly announces Dreamworks buys rights to Eleanor & Park
Have you heard about the #Speak4Ranin Campaign? https://www.rainn.org/speak
Paper Towns by John Green is going to be a movie.
Megan McCafferty offers readers the chance to Ask! Authors! Anything!
Kirsten Hubbard has two new YA novels sold to Egmont USA and they sound amazing. And Sara Sargent, my lovely editor, has been on a buying spree recently. She’s picked up another book I’d love to read RIGHT NOW. Check out this PW Rights Report.
Learning To Adapt: The Cinematic Explosion on Young Adult Books
HUNGER GAMES meets GAME OF THRONES? Yes, please. Gwendoline Christie is hopping over to Mockingjay
And finally, the chocolate-sauce goodness in the Buzz Worthy post from Cuddlebuggery last week, with it’s round-up of literary April Fools pranks and bit of eye-candy, is a do-not-miss.

Thanks to Alyssa Hamilton for contributing to the Books, Books, Books feature! You can read Alyssa’s book reviews at Swept Away By Books.

WRITING TIP

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Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Apr 8, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Fiction Giveaways

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← Previous: EIGHT Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 4/8-4/14 Next: WOW Wednesday: Start With The Theme (Song) In Mind by Charles Benoit →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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